ABSTRACT
The Oxford English Dictionary reminds us that one definition of the word "legend" is "an unauthentic or non-historical story, especially one handed down by tradition from early times and popularly regarded as historical." On the other hand, the Dictionary also defines the same word as "the story of the life of a saint." Legends, therefore, may (or may not) be factual; they may also be inspiring, even wonderful. In his Confessions St. Augustine told "the truth" as he understood it, but he also told it as he wanted us to perceive it and act on it. So did Plutarch and Boswell; so did Benvenuto Cellini, Lytton Strachey, and Salvador Dali; so, today, do the likes of Joseph Horowitz and Jan Swafford. Biographers are legend-makers, tellers of tales about others – and, inevitably, about themselves. They emphasize certain facts, even as they play down others (or omit them altogether); sometimes, too, they pass on rumors they can neither prove nor disprove.
